Gas-fixture.



No. 754,108. PATENTED MAR. 8, 1904. 1

J; WUNDER, JR-

GAS FIXTURE. APPLIQATION FILED mm: a, 1901.

H0 MODEL.

' INVENTOR IWITNESSES:

UNITED STATES Patented March 8, 1904.

"PATENT OFFICE. 7

GAS-FIXTURE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent 0. 754,108, dated March -8, 1904.

Application filed June 3, 1901. Serial No. 62,831. (No model.)

To all whom. it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN WUNDER, J r., a subject of the Emperor of Germany, residing at New York city, New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Gas-Fixtures, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to gas-fixtures, andhas for its particular object to produce a gas-fixture in which when the gas is fully turned ofi the operating-key will be locked from movement.

It is a Well-known fact that in gas-fixtures as at present constructed many fatal accidents have been caused by persons carelessly turning on the gas as they removed their fingers from the key, giving said key a slight reverse movement, thereby permitting the gas to escape. This is particularly true of persons of a careless or nervous temperament. People who have this defect or failing are in many cases fully aware of it, and it is a constant source of uneasiness to them, causing them frequently to rise after retiring to feel the keys of the various gas-jets in their desire to determine whether or not they have been carelessly left open. All these disadvantages and diliiculties are obviated by my invention in a very simple mechanical manner.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown one form of my invention but it will be understood that my invention is not limited to the construction shown in the drawings.

In the drawings, Figure I is a side view of the gas-fixture embodying my improvement. Fig. II is a section of line 2 2 of Fig. I. Fig. III is an enlarged horizontal section through the stem of the key, showing the construction in detail.

In the drawings, 1 indicates the casing of the gas-fixture, in which works, preferably by ground-joint, a suitable valve or cock provided with the usual port thereto. The stem of the valve is preferably cut away to form a non-circular stem 3. In the drawings I have shown a stem oblong in the cross-sectiom-but it will be understood that other forms of the stem adapted to the shape of the passage through the key may be used Without departing from the spirit of my invention. In the drawings I have shown the lower end of this stem as reduced and screw-threaded at its outer end, although it is to be understood that it is not essential that the said reduced stem be screw-threaded. Surrounding the stem is or may be a suitable spring 5, to which is adapted a nut 6. It will be understood, how-- ever, that this nut may be replaced by any suitable head. The stem of the valve is supported in place in the present instance by a suitable arm 8, which engages beneath an annular shoulder 9, as clearly shown in the drawings. This arm 8 engaging beneath the shoulder serves to support the valve when its adjusting-screw at the top shall have been removed. or has been accidentally displaced in use. A suitable key 12 is provided, whichis shown in the present instance as traversed by an aperture 13, which in the present instance is shown as square at the top, although it may be made of any suitable configuration. This key is provided with a pin 10, which is adapted to come against the shoulder 7 on the casing 1. The key 12 serves to operate the valve in the usual manner, and the pin 10 is adapted to fall into the slot immediately below the arm 8, so that the key will be firmly locked by said slot and pin. The casing 1 is also shown as provided with grooves 11, into which the pin is adapted to ride to aid in holding the valve in its intermediate positions. The spring 5 bears against the shoulder 14 in the interior of the key and bearing at its opposite end against the nut 6 will serve to force the key firmly upward, thereby causing the pin to bear firmly against the lower edge of the casing 1, as shown in Figs. I and II.

The operation of the device is as follows: If the gas-cock be opened andit is desired to close the same and to lock the key in its closed position, the key is simply rotated as in the ordinary gas-fixture, and when the pin 10 comes I ture can be very advantageously employed by persons of a nervous temperament, as aforesaid, in that when the gas has been turned off it affords an absolute indication that the key is locked.

It will be seen that in the form of fixture shown in the drawings the key revolves but a quarter-turn instead of making a half-turn, as in the fixtures heretofore devised. The key is thus substantially stopped at the end of its limits of movement, and the extent of move ment required in order to fully and sufficiently operate the fixture is only a quarter-turn, so that in this limited range of movement all of the functions which could have been performed by the half-turn are present.

Having described my invention, what 1 claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

In a gas-fixture, the combination of means for controlling the flow of gas, comprising in its structure a key having a prismatic aperture therein and adapted to have a movement of rotation, a plurality of fixed stops on the gasway limiting the movement of rotation of the key, the said fixed stops being of such character as to limit the rotation of the key irrespective of the vertical position of the key, a pin carried by the key, a series of recesses in the gasway in which the pin is adapted to engage, a stem 3 upon which the said key is carried and adapted to slide freely longitudinally thereon and a spiral spring interposed between the stem and the key located within 

